‘Indore roads biggest killer, most injuries reported from Bhopal’

Roads in Indore proved be the most fatal, while the ones in Bhopal turned out to be the most injurious for commuters in 2015. Road accidents in Madhya Pradesh claimed 9,758 lives in 2015 compared to 9,292 fatalities in 2014.

Dhar district recorded third highest number of road accidents. (File photo)

Roads in Indore proved be the most fatal, while the ones in Bhopal turned out to be the most injurious for commuters in 2015.

Statistics released by the state crime records bureau (SCRB), reveals that road accident claimed 9,758 in Madhya Pradesh compared to 9,292 fatalities in 2014.

Out of the total road accident deaths, Indore accounted for the maximum 471 or more than one death every day, which was less than the 597 deaths recorded in the district in 2014.

Indore has recorded maximum number of road accident deaths every year since 2011

The road accident victims in Indore during 2015, included 417 males and 54 females. Indore has recorded the maximum number of road accidents deaths every year since 2011.

The second highest road accidents were recorded from Chhindwara district for the second consecutive year. In 2014, the district recorded 425, the second highest road accident deaths in the state after Indore.

The 2015 statistics released by SCRB will form the basis of road accident data that will be part of the National Crime Records Bureau records to be released in the coming weeks.

According to the 2015 figures, Dhar district recorded the third highest number of road accident deaths with 427, followed by Satna with 385 and Jabalpur with 365.

In 2015, Bhopal recorded 3,621 road accident cases in which 2,779 people were injured, including 2,373 men and 406 women.

In 2015, a total of 40,859 road accident cases were reported in the state, in which 40,878 people or more than 11 people injured every day, including 34,511 men and 6,367 women. The total number of road accidents was much more than the 39,698 cases reported in 2014, in which 35,171 men and 6,033 women were injured.

Dhar with 2,724 people injured in 2,193 road accidents recorded the second highest number of road accidents, followed by Gwalior with 2,028 people injured in 2191 cases, Ujjain with 1,995 people hurt in 1,851 accidents and Satna with 1,507 people injured in 1,616 accidents.

Two-wheelers continue to be biggest killer vehicles

Two-wheelers continued to be the biggest killer vehicles, having caused 3,125 casualties (2666 in 2014), followed by truck and lorries which killed 1606 people (1895 people in 2014) and 1062 by cars (1300 in 2014).

A comparison of 2015 road accident fatalities with the 2014 figures translated into a 17% increase in deaths caused by two wheelers.

But the number of deaths caused by trucks and lorries declined by 15% and casualties caused by cars and jeep fell by 18%.

‘Increase in number of accidents in 2014, 2015 can be attributed to good quality of roads’

Prafulla Joshi, an Indore-based road accident analyst, said the maximum number of road fatalities was due to increase in the movement of heavy vehicles on a number of highways connecting the city with its suburbs, as well as a number of liquor shops on city outskirts that has resulted in an increase in the number of drink driving.

He added that increase in number of accidents in 2014 and 2015 can be attributed to good quality of roads which encourages drivers to at higher speeds often causing fatalities due to carless overtaking.

On the higher number of accidents in Bhopal, but lesser casualties, Joshi said it was due to smaller size of the city. Unlike Indore and Gwalior there was comparatively lesser traffic congestion, which resulted in timely help to accident victims.